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Tuesday, December 24, 2024

VA reports increase in number of February appointments scheduled at W. G. Hefner VA MC health facility in Kernersville

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The W. G. Hefner VA Medical Center, subsidiary 659BY in Kernersville, North Carolina scheduled 71,601 pending appointments in February compared to 62,846 during the same period last year, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments this February, 62,769 had a wait time of 30 days or less (87.7%) and 8,832 appointments (12.3%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019, reported that wait times for new appointments at VA health care facilities were similar or better to wait times at private-sector providers between 2014 and 2017.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 that cautioned that the VA's data-tracking system only captures part of the appointment process and fails to account for the time that it takes the VA to enroll veterans in its health benefits program.

At a hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Committee after the report was released, Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, said new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains on its website that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to 1 of 8 priority groups, with those who need immediate care due to service-related disabilities placed in higher priority groups. Veterans who do not have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

W. G. Hefner VA Medical Center - 659BY Appointments Scheduled in February 2020 vs. February 2019

Facility Code
Location
Total Appointments Scheduled in February 2020
Total Appointments Scheduled in February 2019
Percent change in number of appointments
659
Salisbury
61,306
58,016
5.7%
659BY
Kernersville
71,601
62,846
13.9%
659BZ
Charlotte
66,408
61,797
7.5%
659GA
Charlotte
10,252
8,020
27.8%
Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration

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